Israelis charged with inciting terrorism for celebrating murder of Palestinian toddler in arson attack at wedding

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An Israeli groom and 12 of his wedding guests have been charged with inciting violence and terrorism by celebrating the murder of a Palestinian toddler who was burned to death in an arson attack.

Ali Dawabsheh died alongside his parents after their home in the West Bank village of Duma was firebombed by settlers in July last year. Only Ahmed, Ali’s four-year-old brother, survived with serious burns.

The attack sparked outrage and waves of protests across Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories as Israeli forces condemned an “act of Jewish terror” and arrested the perpetrators.

But in December, footage emerged of members of a wedding party celebrating the atrocity in Jerusalem.

An amateur video aired on Israeli television showed far-right Jewish attendees dancing with guns, knives and Molotov cocktails, shouting anti-Palestinian chants and stabbing a photo of 18-month-old Ali.

It was broadcast by Channel 10 news, who reported that the couple getting married were “very well known in the radical right” and had friends who knew suspects in the Dawabsheh murders.

Israeli and Palestinian politicians were united in their condemnation, with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu saying “shocking images show the true face of a group that constitutes a danger Israeli society”.

Court officials in Jerusalem said 13 wedding participants, including the bridegroom, were indicted on Wednesday on charges of inciting violence or terrorism.

The crimes carry a penalty of up to five years' imprisonment. Pleas have not yet been entered.

A 21-year-old Jewish settler was charged with racially-motivated murder over the arson in January, and a second Jewish defendant, a minor at the time of the incident, was charged as an accessory.

Palestinians have long complained about attacks and harassment by settlers in the West Bank and accused Israel's right-wing government of failing to prevent the attacks or punish the perpetrators.

Mr Netanyahu has pledged to take "firm action against terrorism, no matter who its perpetrators are" as a wave of Palestinian attacks and security crackdowns continues.

Israeli prosecutors ended an investigation into two private security guards who shot two Palestinian siblings dead at a crossing between Jerusalem and the occupied West Bank on Wednesday.

The justice ministry said the unnamed guards had acted in self-defence 27 April, as the sister, a mother-of-two was carrying a knife and had been intending to attack them at Qalandia.

But Palestinian witnesses told the AFP news agency that Maram Abu Ismail, 23, and her brother Ibrahim Saleh Taha, 16, had panicked after going the wrong way at the heavily guarded checkpoint.

At least 36 Israelis, two Americans and several other foreign nationals have been killed in Palestinian attacks over the past year, while more than 230 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli security forces.

Officials say the majority were killed while carrying out or attempting stabbings, shootings or car-ramming attacks but others have been shot dead during protests or clashes, with the UN raising concern over the “excessive use of force” by Israeli forces.

Additional reporting by AFP